Gwilym Lee (born 24 November 1983) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles in Midsomer Murders (2013–2016), A Song for Jenny (2015), Jamestown (2017), Top End Wedding (2019), The Great (2020–2023), and for playing guitarist Brian May in the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody (2018).
Gwilym Lee | |
|---|---|
 Lee in 2018 | |
| Born | 24 November 1983 Bristol, England |
| Alma mater | Cardiff University Guildhall School of Music and Drama |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1997–present |
Early life
editLee was born in Bristol to Welsh parents, Tom and Ceinwen. He has three older siblings: Geraint, Owen and Rhiannon. When he was young the family moved to Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands,[1] although he identifies strongly with his Welsh heritage.[2][3] He studied English literature at Cardiff University and drama at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he received the Guildhall Gold Medal in 2008.[1] Lee lives in London.[4]
Career
editLee joined a drama group as a teen. He then starred in the 1997–1998 television adaptation of the Animal Ark books. Aged 16 he started working on Richard III with the Royal Shakespeare Company.[4] Lee appeared in a leading role in the final series of Land Girls (2011) and had several guest roles on television (including Ashes to Ashes, Fresh Meat, Monroe and Henry V). He has also worked on radio (The Emerald Tiger, The Silver Turk and in an adaptation of The Cruel Sea).
Lee was commended in the 2008 Ian Charleson Awards for his appearance in the National Theatre's production of Oedipus and in 2009 played Laertes to Jude Law's Hamlet in the Donmar West End season.[5]
He won first prize of the 2011 Ian Charleson Award for his role as Edgar in the 2010 King Lear production at the Donmar Warehouse.[6] In 2012, Lee starred in the Donmar Trafalgar Studios production of Aleksei Arbuzov's The Promise.[7]
At Christmas 2013, Lee began a television starring role as DCI Barnaby's new sergeant, DS Charlie Nelson, in the 16th series of Midsomer Murders, which also included the show's 100th episode, partially shot in Denmark in collaboration with the local national broadcasting corporation, DR.[8] In early 2014 he appeared in Versailles at the Donmar Warehouse.[5]
In April 2016, it was announced by ITV that Lee was not returning for season 19 of Midsomer Murders. Lee, on his Twitter account, indicated he would be involved in an upcoming series Jamestown.[9] Lee played guitarist Brian May in the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody (2018),[10] which earned him a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 25th Screen Actors Guild Awards.[11]
In 2018, it was announced that Lee had joined the cast of the Hulu series The Great; on the series airing for three seasons from 2020 to 2023, Lee starred amongst the ensemble cast as Grigory "Grigor" Dymov, a composite character of Catherine the Great's historical lovers Grigory Orlov and Grigory Potemkin, and a childhood friend of Peter III.[12]
In 2023, it was announced that Lee had been cast in the second season of SAS: Rogue Heroes.[13]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | The Escort | Short film | |
| 2010 | The Tourist | Senior Technician Mountain | |
| 2011 | Isle of Dogs | D.C. Block | |
| 2017 | The Agency | Alistair | Short film |
| 2018 | The Last Witness | John Underwood | |
| Bohemian Rhapsody | Brian May | ||
| 2019 | Top End Wedding | Ned | Premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2019 |
| 2023 | Tall Dark and Handsome | James | Short film |
| 2024 | Oddity | Ted | |
| Here | John Harter |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–1998 | Animal Ark | James Hunter | TV series, 13 episodes |
| 2008 | Mutual Friends | Young Man | TV series, episode: #1.5 |
| 2009 | Lewis | Terry Bainbridge | Episode: "The Quality of Mercy" |
| Waterloo Road | Steven | TV series, episode #4.11 | |
| Ashes to Ashes | Young Summers | TV series, episode #2.7 | |
| 2010 | Doctors | Anatole Karpski | TV series, episode: "Idle Hands" |
| 2011 | Land Girls | Reverend Henry Jameson | TV series, 5 episodes |
| 2012 | The Hollow Crown | Williams | TV miniseries, episode: "Henry V" |
| Fresh Meat | Giles | TV series, episode #2.1 | |
| Monroe | Alex Scholfield | TV series, episode #2.3 | |
| Restless | Sean Gilmartin | Television film | |
| 2013–2016 | Midsomer Murders | DS Charlie Nelson | TV series, 15 episodes |
| 2015 | A Song for Jenny | James | Television film |
| 2017 | The Royal House of Windsor | Narrator | Documentary series |
| Jamestown | Samuel Castell | 8 episodes | |
| 2019 | The Man | Mark Baxter | Episode #1.2 |
| 2020–2023 | The Great | Grigory "Grigor" Dymov | Hulu series, main cast |
| 2024 | SAS: Rogue Heroes | Bill Stirling | BBC series, season 2 |
Theatre
edit| Year | Title | Role | Venue/Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Richard III | Edward, Prince of Wales | Royal Shakespeare Company | |
| 2008 | Oedipus | The Messenger and Understudy Oedipus | National Theatre | with Ralph Fiennes |
| 2009 | About Tommy | Tommy | Southwark Playhouse | |
| Hamlet | Laertes | Kronborg Castle and Broadhurst Theatre | with Jude Law | |
| Hamlet | Guildenstern | Donmar Warehouse | ||
| 2010 | The Fairy-Queen | Demetrius | Opera-Comique and Off-Broadway | |
| Danton's Death | Lacroix and Understudy Danton | National Theatre | ||
| 2010–2011 | King Lear | Edgar | Donmar Warehouse | |
| 2011 | Othello | Cassio | Sheffield Crucible | with Lily James, Dominic West |
| 2012 | The Promise | Leonidik | Donmar Warehouse at Trafalgar Studios | |
| 2014 | Versailles | Leonard | Donmar Warehouse | with Tom Hughes |
| 2017 | Diminished | Adam | Hampstead Theatre |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Cloud Chamber | Tom | |
| 2015 | Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below | Psaro the Manslayer | English voice |
| 2015 | Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward | Cid | English voice |
| 2019 | Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers | Cid | English voice |
| 2020 | South of the Circle | Peter | Voice, 3D motion capture |
| 2021 | Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker | Cid | English voice |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Guildhall School of Music and Drama | Drama Gold Medal | Won | [14] | |
| Ian Charleson Awards | Commendations | portraying the Messenger in Oedipus at National Theatre | Won | [15] | |
| 2010 | First Prize | portraying Edgar in King Lear at Donmar Warehouse | Won | [15] | |
| 2019 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | Bohemian Rhapsody | Nominated | [16] |
| 2021 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | The Great | Nominated | [17] |
References
edit- ^ a b McCrum, Kirstie (13 December 2013). "Actor Gwilym's got murder in mind at Midsomer". Wales Online.
- ^ Lee, Gwilym (17 February 2016). "Two contrasting birthday cards from family and friends illustrating the difficulty of growing up Welsh in England...pic.twitter.com/sHsNKywJZG". @Gwilymlee. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
- ^ Lee, Gwilym (7 July 2018). "Apparently, it's coming home. (I know I'm Welsh - but just for this one day.....) #itscominghome #worldcup". @Gwilymlee. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
- ^ a b Kebble, Mark (16 December 2013). "Why Gwilym Lee is one to watch". The Resident. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
- ^ a b "Hamlet at the Donmar Warehouse 2009". Archived from the original on 31 January 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
- ^ Wise, Louis (19 June 2011). "Award for young actors". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013.
- ^ "Photo Flash: First Look at Max Bennett, Gwilym Lee and More in Donmar Warehouse's The Promise". 20 November 2012.
- ^ Cole, Tom (15 April 2013). "Midsomer Murders: Gwilym Lee joins as Barnaby's new partner". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
- ^ "Twitter". mobile.twitter.com. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
- ^ Queen Pic 'Bohemian Rhapsody' Finds Bandmates In Ben Hardy, Gwilym Lee & Joe Mazzello, Retrieved 22 August 2017.
- ^ Nordyke, Kimberly (12 December 2018). "SAG Awards: Full List of Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
- ^ Bohemian Rhapsody's Gwilym Lee Joins Hulu Pilot 'The Great', Retrieved 13 May 2023.
- ^ Filming begins on SAS Rogue Heroes series two, as new and returning cast are announced, Retrieved 13 May 2023.
- ^ "Drama Gold Medal awarded to Gwilym Lee". Guildhall School. 12 December 2018. Archived from the original on 24 September 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2008.
- ^ a b Wise, Louis. "Award for young actors". Sunday Times. 19 June 2011.
- ^ "Screen Actors Guild Props Up Popular Players in Film, Ignores Critical Darlings". Variety. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- ^ France, Lisa Respers (4 February 2021). "SAG Award 2021: See the full list of nominees". CNN. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
